Gaming in the United States is divided into Class I, Class II and Class III games. Class I gaming includes social games played for minimal prizes, or traditional ceremonial games. Class II gaming includes bingo games, pull tab games if played in the same location as bingo games, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games similar to bingo. Class III gaming includes any game that is not a Class I or Class II game, such as a game of chance typically offered in non-Indian, state-regulated casinos. Many games of chance that are played on gaming machines fall into the Class II and Class III categories of games.
As technology in the gaming industry progresses, the traditional mechanically driven reel slot machines are being updated with electronic components. Some modern electronic gaming machines have video displays based on CRT, LCD or the like. Electronic gaming machines, such as video slot machines and video poker machines, are becoming increasingly popular. Part of the reason for their increased popularity is the nearly endless variety of games that can be implemented on a single gaming machine.
Typically, using a master gaming controller, a gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or an indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, such as bill acceptors/validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including key pads, button pads, card readers, and ticket readers, to determine the wager amount, and initiate game play.
After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game. A game outcome presentation may utilize many different visual and audio components such as flashing lights, music, sounds and graphics. The visual and audio components of the game outcome presentation may be used to draw a player's attention to various game features and to heighten the player's interest in additional game play.
Maintaining a game player's interest in game play, such as on a gaming machine or during other gaming activities, is an important consideration for an operator of a gaming establishment. As technology in the gaming industry progresses, more and more electronic components are being incorporated into gaming machines to maintain player interest. For instance, many gaming machines have entirely replaced mechanical slot reels with video displays to simulate the visual effect of the mechanical reels. Video displays facilitate the play of many different slot games on a single machine. Video displays also provide graphics, which can be combined with music and sounds to stimulate the player.
Another method of gaining and maintaining interest in game play is to provide a gaming machine with a plurality of games. Although conventional mechanical gaming machines have provided only a single game per machine, modern video-based machines permit a player to select from a number of different games on the same machine. However, this multi-game capability has not been implemented on mechanical slot machines incorporating mechanical reels.
As mechanical components of gaming machines are replaced with electronics, many players feel the machines are too controlled. Thus, some players feel their chances of winning might be better with traditional mechanical-driven gaming machines. For this reason and others, such as past experience and comfort level, many players are still attracted by the look and feel of mechanical-driven slot machines.
It is often desirable to change a game theme or add new capabilities or features to a particular mechanical-driven slot machine once that machine has been deployed. However, such changes can be expensive and difficult. The creation and installation of a new mechanical slot game involves manufacturing and printing of new reel strips, and physical replacement and installation of the strips on the mechanical reels every time a new game is deployed. Such retrofitting results in materials, time, labor, and other cost demands for the mechanical design, construction, purchase, and installation of new reel strips or reels in the machine, even when new software and/or other electronic components are not needed. Hence, retrofitting a mechanical reel-based machine to generate and maintain interest in game play can represent a significant expense to a casino.
What is needed is an effective scheme for providing different games on mechanical reel slot machines. Updating and replacing the displayed reel strips on the mechanical reels is desired, without requiring a service technician to manually replace the physical reel strips and/or reels to implement the new game. It would also be desirable to have flexibility, so a limitless variety of symbols, numbers, and other outputs could be displayed on the reel strips. Also, it would be desirable to provide improved apparatuses and methods for updating reel strips with minimal power and space requirements.